“Will Roswell be obliged to stop in the West Indies, uncle?”

“Sartain—­if he obeys his orders; and I think the young man will do that.  But the business there will not detain him long,”—­Mary’s countenance brightened again, at this remark,—­“and, should you be right, we, may still look for him in the next ninety days.”

Mary remained silent for a short time, but her charming face was illuminated by an expression of heartfelt happiness, which, however, the next remark of her uncle’s had an obvious tendency to disturb.

“Should Gar’ner come home successful, Mary,” inquired the deacon, “successful in all things—­successful in sealing, and successful in that other matter—­the West Ingee business, I mean—­but successful in all, as I daily pray he may be,—­I want to know if you would then have him; always supposing that he got back himself unchanged?”

“Unchanged, I shall never be his wife,” answered Mary, tremulously, but firmly.

The deacon looked at her in surprise; for he had never comprehended but one reason why the orphan and penniless Mary should refuse so pertinaciously to become the wife of Roswell Gardiner; and that was his own want of means.  Now the deacon loved Mary more than he was aware of himself, but he had never actually made up his mind to leave her the heiress of his estate.  The idea of parting with property at all, was too painful for him to think of making a will; and without such an instrument, there were others who would have come in for a part of the assets, “share and share alike,” as the legal men express it.  Of all this was the deacon fully aware and it occasionally troubled him:  more of late than formerly, since he felt in his system the unerring signs of decay.  Once had he got so far as to write on a page of foolscap, “In the name of God, Amen;” but the effort proved too great for him, and he abandoned the undertaking.  Still Deacon Pratt loved his niece, and was well inclined to see her become the wife of “young Gar’ner,” more especially should the last return successful.

“Unchanged!” repeated the uncle, slowly; “you sartainly would not wish to marry him, Mary, if he was changed!”

“I do not mean changed, in the sense you are thinking of, uncle.  But we will not talk of this now.  Why should Roswell stop in the West Indies at all?  It is not usual for our vessels to stop there.”

“No, it is not.  If Gar’ner stop at all, it will be on a very unusual business, and one that may make all our fortunes—­your’n, as well as his’n and mine, Mary.”

“I hope that sealers never meddle with the transportation of slaves, uncle!” the girl exclaimed, with a face filled with apprehension.  “I would rather live and die poor, than have anything to do with them!”

“I see no such great harm in the trade, gal; but such is not Roswell’s ar’nd in the West Ingees.  It’s a great secret, the reason of his call there; and I will venture to foretell that, should he make it, and should it turn out successful, you will marry him, gal.”